He is known for far more important things, but...
Why would you do such a thing?
Excellent question.
Olearius went ashore at Kazan for provisions in August 1636 and had this to say:
The extraordinary bigness of the melons was deemed remarkable enough that it merited mention in the Table of Contents of the 1662 edition, wedged between a summary of Ivan IV's conquest of Kazan and notes on the course of the Volga below the once-great city.We could meet with nothing but Fruits, among others, particularly Melons, full as big as our Pompions, and Salt-fish, but such as stunk so that we were forc'd to stop our noses, to shun the infection.